Well, this is it.  We leave tomorrow for Uganda.  Since our last update it has been a whirlwind of activity.  Our church (I see you Newkirk) gifted us with the remaining amount we needed for our vehicle!  That money has been sent over and will be waiting so we can buy when we get there.  We had our commissioning service and it was a packed house.  Everyone prayed for us, Pastor Sam (RTL BWAAAAH!) anointed us with oil on our ear, our right thumb, and our right big toe, like was done for priest and lepers in the Old Testament.  It was a special moment for us.  God blows me away.  I am glad that He is worthy and able, because we are not.  I feel so unqualified in my own abilities, but I know that he is qualifies us and it is only in Him that we are able.  God is good.

Today I dropped some tears.  They finally came when we dropped our dog Layla off with my sister.  Nora cried, I cried, Rory cried. 

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

I look at Rory and he is upset to go now.  I see him cry and tell me he is sad and it crushes me. 

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

God asks for obedience, not for our comfort or enjoyment, but for his glory.  What Jesus said was you must renounce all, hate your mother and father, let the dead bury themselves, sell all you have.  Being a disciple was never supposed to be easy.  Its hard and messy.  We go now because God laid this out and called us too it.  We go for Him and for His glory and we give up for Him.  Results are his.  I am thankful to be called, tears and all. 

Prayer Request

• For us as we travel from Charlotte to Detroit to Amsterdam to Entebbe
• For adjustment to the new culture
• For our work in Kotido
• For our team
• For our new hometown, Kotido.
• For our family we leave behind.  They get the bad but not the good.
• That God would be glorified in all we do
• For my Youth at Newkirk
• For Newkirk 

 

Hello everyone and welcome to August and our final month in the states!  This past month flew by and we have so much to update.  First we would like to extend our most sincere thanks for everyone’s prayers and help over this entire process.  Keep them coming!

 

So the biggest thing is we have obtained financial clearance!  That means that our general budget has been met! If you are giving monthly, please continue to do so.  If you have given in any fashion know that we are very humbled and appreciative of what you have done.  If you have not given but would like to then do so, as there are always unforeseen things that could and probably will occur.

We still have a little ways to go to meet our vehicle budget.  We need between 8 and 11,000 to fully meet it. The reason for the range is we have to find and buy the vehicle once we get there with the help of our team leaders and that is the going prices currently.  It will be a used 4wd vehicle. We believe some/most of that will be meet, but as of today that is where we are.  If you are interested in giving to that then you can mail a check to Sara and I (Ben and Sara Pryce, 122 Mickle Ct. Rock Hill, SC 29732).  Support given to the vehicle is not tax deductible.  The vehicle is required for us to go and is a necessity due to the remoteness of Kotido and the condition of the roads in general.

As you can see from the picture above our lives are currently in a controlled state of chaos.  We are currently going through a rather long list of things that need to be done before we go.  Most are small and rather simple, with a few big ones thrown in. The biggest might be us selling our van (so if you are interested come on down and check out the special we have on our last remaining pre-owned minivan (did you read that in a car announcer voice?)).  Seriously though if you are interested let Sara or me know (phone/email/msg/shouting/messenger pigeon).

One good thing is that I finished the last day at my job on July 31st.  I was very blessed to be able to work at the same place for the last twelve years and God used it to grow our family, both in number and in character.  Packing has been interesting as we try to figure out what to take and what not to.  We have come to realize that we didn’t have quite as much clothing as we thought we did.  I have also come to realize that we or maybe I (Ben) will need to be careful on what I say as our English cousins have different names for certain things.  Let me set the stage.  Sara and I have been harassing Paul and Helen with various questions ranging from clothing to facial hair (mostly me).  I asked if I should wear shorts or pants.  In response I get a line of lol emojis in return.   Then I find out I just asked if I should wear shorts or underwear.  In the UK pants = underwear and trousers = pants.  It was very funny and a great reminder that we need to learn Ng’Karamojong and maybe some English as well.

Our flights have been booked and we will be leaving August 23rd.  Our flight will go as follows Charlotte to Detroit to Amsterdam to Entebbe.  We leave around 1pm and will arrive in Uganda around 10:30pm on August 24th. It will be a long, long flight and we are incredible excited/nervous.  We hope to update again around mid month before we leave.

PRAYER REQUEST

• For the kids.  I believe it has started to get real to them and they are beginning to realize what they are giving up and leaving behind.  Pray they would adjust well.
• For Sara.  Sara is a very organized person so this month of chaos is pushing her to her limit.  To her credit she has been incredible.  Pray for patience and peace.
• For me.  Pray that I can lead my family well, that I would have extreme patience, calmness and direction
• That we would all abide in Christ.  Every stress and situation we would put in his hands and walk boldly forward.
• For our team.  We are beyond excited to be with them.  Pray we would add to what they have accomplished, that they and us would adjust to each other.
• For the Karimojong.  Pray we can have an impact in their community and that God would be glorified.
• For our vehicle budget to be met.
• For our packing and travel.
• That we would sell our van.
• For our home church and for my youth that I am leaving behind.
• That God would gain all the glory and credit from anything and everything we do, as it is His to begin with.

Dah dah duh duh..  Sorry if I get that stuck in your head.  So July is upon us and we have just 3 and 1/2 weeks until our financial clearance is due.  What the heck does that mean?  Well basically it means that we have to all of our funds committed.  Committed funds are funds that you have either signed up to give monthly, as a one time gift, or pledged to give at a certain date.

Currently to date what has been give is $27,845.  We have another $15,137 to go.  It may sound like a lot, but it really is just a few people.  If twelve people will commit to give $100 a month for 12 months, that would exceed what we need.  Any money give towards our general budget is tax deductible.  No amount is insignificant.

Help send us to serve.  We will be discipling youth and church leaders in Kotido.  Think about the Great Commission for a minute.  Beyond making disciples and baptizing them is teaching to observe all you know.  This is foundational to the life of a Christian.  We are hoping to provide some foundation and knowledge so that they can go and make disciples of their own people.  If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Sara.  May His will be done.

You can mail checks to(make sure to make the check to Africa Inland Mission and our names on a separate note):

Africa Inland Mission
Attn.: Receipting Department
P.O. Box 3611
Peachtree City, GA 30269-7611

Our you can give online HERE

Hello everyone.  Lately, most of our recent posts have been about support raising so we thought we would change things up and do a little Q&A for people.  We get a lot of questions from people about our trip and for the most part the questions are the same.  If you have a question that is not listed feel free to comment or email one of us with it.

 

Q.  Are your kids going too?

A. Yes! This trip is as much for them as it is for us.  I am not sure we could leave them behind while we went and served.  Our home serves God and that is all of us, young or old.  It is my hope they see the other side of things.  I want them to see poverty, different culture, Christianity in a non-American setting.  I want them to see Sara and I doing and not just saying it.  I want them to see us give up everything for God.  Plus kids are everywhere in Africa, I am bringing them four missionaries.

Q. Are you scared/nervous?

A. Yes and No.  I am not afraid to go.  I am not afraid of giving up things or being without, if anything I want that.  God is sovereign over all things including our lives, which means that they are His to use as He sees fit.  It also means when He decides my time is up then it doesn’t matter if I am in Africa or South Carolina.  I am sure we will all have the jitters beforehand, but God is pretty awesome and can use the least of us.  I am confident that God will use me till He is done with me and then I can know that I did my best to glorify Him.

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Q.  Will you have to learn the language?

A. Yes we will.  The Karimojong speak N’Karamojong.  Our goal is to adapt to the Karimojong culture as much as possible.  In town we are told they speak English to varying degrees, but outside they don’t.

Q.  Is there electricity/toilets?

A. No currently the grid has not made its way to Kotido.  Our house will have a toilet that pulls water from what is stored.

Q. What is the weather like?

A. Hot, dry, and dusty.  The rain is seasonal and not reliable.  When the rains are late people will go to witch doctors for help, be sure to pray that the rains are on time and regular.

Q. What will you be doing there?

A. Our main goal is discipling youth and church leaders.  We want to help these believers to be rock solid in their faith, disciple making, and God honoring.  This is a huge need in Africa.  Not just a week of training but investment, mentoring, discipling.  Our secondary goal is to figure out what needs to be done to reach whole manyattas for Christ.

Q. Will you be alone or on a team?

A. We will be on a team.  Our team is made of people from all over the place.  We have the Shepherds from England, Mahood from Northern Ireland, and the Turners from New Zealand.  The Shepherds are doctors who will be working in the clinics in town, Mahood is a physiotherapist, and the Turners are cattle farmers.  I believe with us added in we will have just about ever accent of English you can find.  We have chatted with them a little bit and are very anxious to meet them in person.  We are very chuffed with how much they have checked in with us and asked for ways to pray for us.

 

I believe that is it for now.  We may do another Q&A post later.  If you have questions feel free to comment or email us.

Prayer Request

-For us to finish up on our support.  I believe we have another 30% to go on our general budget and somewhere between 8 and 13,000 on our vehicle.

-Pray for our team, specifically that they would have opportunities to share the Gospel and for rest

-Pray that the generator at the church continues to function as it supplies water to half the town.

-Pray for the Karimojong, specifically for them to be saved and for a way to be found to reach them outside of town.

-Pray for the Church of Uganda and for its Bishop

Hello everyone and happy May.    It has been a very busy month for us so far.  We have had two birthdays, baby showers, and a crushed pinky.   Rory turned 6 on May 11th and Emma turned 14 on May 16th.  It is hard to believe they are getting so big.  Emma especially has just blossomed in to the beautiful young lady and has me feeling old.  It wont be long before she is driving and graduating.  Speaking of graduating I was asked to be Master of Ceremonies at our homeschool graduation.  It was a blessing to be a part of.  You can tell when something is special when you see dads holding back tears.  There was a small slide show after each person was given their diploma and watching it made me realize Emma will graduate in just a few years.  I feel old.  One of the graduates was Rory’s favorite person, Kristen.  She has loved on him at co-op every week for years now.  She is very special young lady to our family.

Ok lets start with the pinky.  On the day before Rory’s birthday he got his pinky finger shut in the door.  It was bad.  I am pretty calm when it comes to emergencies and tend to think pretty clear.  This time though rocked me.  His finger was mangled.  I drove to the ER locked my keys in the car WHILE it was running.  Sara met me there and we went to Levine’s up in Charlotte.  Rory got excellent care from the doctors and nurses.  He ended up turning 6 in the ER.  The doctor was great, after an hour of sewing he got the finger fixed up.  They even gave Rory a card and a present when we left.  It was sweet and got a small smile out of him.

So, where are we in being ready for Africa?  That is the question we get asked all the time.  We are caught up on shots, are slowly finishing up other commitments, and are just finishing our support raising.  So where are we with it?

We have raised $22,370 of our general budget.  We need to raise $43,000.  We have raised $800 of our car budget.  We need to raise between 12 and 15,000.

We are almost there.  It is very exciting to see those numbers grow. Each and every time someone offers to partner with us we see God at work.  It is also exciting because we see the body of Christ at work.  It is one thing to hope things go well and another to act and make sure they go well.  The marathon that is this trip to Uganda can only be completed with your help. We need prayer and financial support.  If we do not raise or have commitments for the full amount and the vehicle we cannot go.  We are required to have our funds raise by July 12th.  That is less then two months away.

How can you help?

First you can pray.  We can only succeed if God allows it.  We must go to our Father and seek his will and blessing in all that we do, including the work for his kingdom.

Second, support us.  If you have considered giving at one point and have not done so, now is the time to commit to action.  There is no wrong amount.  Some people are afraid to give because they fear it will be to little or not significant enough.  That is so far from the truth.  God loves a cheerful giver.  It is never about the amount you give, its about the attitude you give with.  Look at it this way, if we have eighteen people commit to give $100 a month for 12 months we will have met our general budget.  The big number seems big, but as the body comes together to provide for itself it becomes small.

Remember this, your support send us, but it is leaving a legacy in Uganda.  The youth we will work with, the men, the women that come to know Jesus will carry that on to the next generation and the next and the next.  Think back, who told you about Jesus?  If you go back to that person then look, someone told them.  Then look at them and it keeps going back.  That legacy, that impacted you is what we want to leave in Africa.  I have heard  story after story of people who now run churches and ministries that impact hundreds and thousands of people.  It all started with a missionary that was sent by someone like you.

 

Prayer Request

• For our full budget and vehicle support to be in by July.
• For our families that we will be leaving.
• For Kotido, the Church of Uganda, and the Karamojong.
• For our team in Kotido (Shepherds, Turners, and Mahood).
• For any person who has considered giving, but has not.
• Thank God for all he has done in our lives.
• For my youth I am leaving behind and our church.

 

 

Yoana 3:16

Kire, abu Akuj tomina akwap nooi, tojal tari Lokoku keŋ ŋolo donupei, ikotere ŋini enupi iŋes nyebukori, nai toryamu akiyar ŋina nyedaun.

Ajok! Happy Easter everyone!  Been a bit since our last update so we figured it was time to catch everyone up to speed on the happenings.

Budget

We currently have 39% of our general budget raised and about 2.5% of our vehicle budget.  Money is tricky because it can be a touchy subject for people, but we have been so blessed by people’s generosity and willingness to give.  We have had lots of people partner with us both financially and with prayer.  The neat is part are the surprises.  We will get a notification on a new supporter and I will look and be so blown away by the generosity.  In some cases it is not even someone we know super well.  It all goes to show you how great God is.  He continually stretches what we think we know and shows us how big He is and how planned He has things.  Have you considered giving and just not done so yet?  Now is the time to partner with us.  Not everyone can go, but everyone can help those going.  You can give as a one time gift or choose to support us monthly.  Take some time and pray about how you can help the Karamojong.

Africa

We have gotten to talk with most of our team briefly.  It has been terrific getting to know them.  We still have a ways to go as you can only get to know someone so well over the Internet.  Plus, everyone on our team is from a different place in the world, so we have a crockpot of cultures being cooked up.  Needless to say prayers are needed for patience and for having a learner spirit.  I am pretty well chuffed to say that I have been learning some English phrases and even hi in Karamojong! Ajok!

Here are a couple of pictures of the Church of Uganda in Kotido.  This is the place where we will worship and work while there.  The left is the church and the right is the church grounds(Photo credit: Helen S.).  Please pray for this church, specifically that it would make disciple-making disciples.

If you are curious what the Karimojong language sounds like you can read it and listen to it here!

Prayer Request

1. That we will be able to raise 100% of our support by July.
2. For our hearts to be ready to go and that we will go as learners
3. For our team in Kotido
4. For everyone to mesh well together
5. For the Church of Uganda and its Bishop
6. For the Karamojong, both in the city and out of it.

 

What a busy couple of days it has been.  A week or two ago we got a long list of items that needed to be done in order for us to go to Uganda.  It was a list that AIM sends to you, like a packing list.  Some of the items on it were: medical checkups, visas, work permits, reading, etc.  At first glance it was a little over whelming.  Then you begin to think, “oh no prob. I got this, we have plenty of time.”  Then you get the date you are leaving, which is August 1st for us.  Still you think you have time.  Then you get the emails pointing out that the Ugandan work permits take 6 months, oh and  you need passports that take 6 weeks, and then you start to panic.  Mission life doesn’t seem so glorious right now.  No one told us about this part.  We want to bring Jesus to the lost.  Breath.  Relax.  Pray.

You see the pictures of everyone in different parts of the world and you hear the stories, but you don’t often hear about the time, money, and effort that goes into even being able to go.  One of the things I want for myself and my family is for God to strip us down.  I want to be uncomfortable.  Perhaps that is what this is.  I took off Wednesday so that we could get passport pictures made and then apply for our passports.  Passport pictures if you have never had one made are…something.  Blank face, no hair in eyes, no shadows, white background, no glasses, no this, no that.  Oh and they are expensive.  $12 bucks a piece for 6 people add up quick.  So we get the pictures then we spend a while going around town trying to find a place to make us copies of them.  We get Staples to copy them and it might work, though the pictures look off.  The day started at 830am.  It is now around 12:30pm or so and we are just now pulling up to the clerk of court in York.  We herd everyone in and start filling out an application per person only to mess up at least once on each person.  We go to the counter and feel like we have it together, just kidding they need a check.  Cool we have one left, oh I mean they need a check per person.  Sara leaves to go get money orders, and the lady does as much to the applications as she can.  When Sara gets back we find out her drivers license will need to be renewed.  When we moved we updated our licenses online thinking it would save time.  When Sara got hers, they had used her 17 year old picture instead of her new one.  It was weird but whatever, well it turns out that they used her signature from before she was married.  Well now only my passport application could be sent.  All of the others had to wait for her to get her license renewed.  This was rough on Sara and brought some tears.  We left and went by the DMV then we had to get to church.  It felt like a wasted day.  So I had to take Thursday off in order to get the passports done, which included new passport pics and then taking Rory for a third time to get his re-recorrected.  We also had to get the boys physicals and some updated shots, which brought some tears as well.

These two days were not glamourous at all.  They were full of frustrations, spent money, and tears.  I was reminded of what some other AIM missionaries advised us, which was to lower our expectations.  Missions does have some amazing parts and times, but it also has a lot of hard parts.  We have to accept the hard parts because the mission, the end goal is that important.  When I took Rory for his third set of passport photos he complained about having to do all of this just to go to Africa.  I pointed out to him and reminded myself that we do this because people are going to hell.  The Karamojong need the Gospel.  The Church of Uganda needs help reaching their people.  We accept the trials now so that we can go and do like our Lord commanded us.  It not glamourous, its missions.

1 Corinthians 9:16

“For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

Prayer Request:

• We leave August 1st, pray that we get to leave on August 1st.
• For us to raise all of our support
• For our passports to be accepted and sent back in record time
• For our work permits to be sent back quickly
• For patience and persistence
• For rain in Uganda
• For the church in Kotido and the Karamojong
• For Helen and Paul to catch up on their sleep
• For our team in general as they get closer to heading to Kotido